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Men’s College World Series: Zander Sechrist and Tennessee advance to the Finals men,s,college,world,series,zander,sechrist,and,tennessee,advance,to,the,finals,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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Wednesday was the kind of outing you dream about as a pitcher for Tennessee’s Zander Sechrist. The senior left-hander got the call for the Volunteers and was tasked with slowing down Florida State with a spot in the Men’s College World Series Final on the line.

For six innings, Sechrist did exactly that.

Facing a Seminoles lineup that hung 11 runs on the Volunteers earlier this week and had mashed all season long — Florida State posted a Slugging Percentage of .559 this season (seventh in the nation) and an OPS of .974 (sixth in the country) — the left-hander kept Florida State scoreless through six innings of work. Sechrist showed complete command of the strike zone, placing an array of fastballs and sharp-breaking balls almost anywhere he wanted to. With some of those breaking balls topping out in the low 80s and even upper 70s, the Florida State hitters were kept off-balance for the first six innings of the game.

By the time the Seminoles finally got to Sechrist for a pair of solo home runs in the seventh inning, the Volunteers’ potent offense had put six runs on the board, spurred on by a three-run first inning. Tennessee added another run in the second, and one more in the third when Christian Moore — who made MCWS history earlier in the week when he became just the second player ever to hit for the cycle — ripped a triple down the right-field line, bringing catcher Cal Stark around to score from first:

And while the Seminoles made it interesting with the two solo home runs in the seventh, Blake Burke added an insurance run for Tennessee with this absolute bomb to right-center:

But the headlines belong to Sechrist, who finished the day giving the Volunteers 6.1 innings of solid work, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out three.

Earlier this week Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello talked about Sechrist getting this opportunity, and how Vitello was “excited” to see the left-hander on the bump.

“We’re really excited,” Vitello said. “This is the guy that has the ability to pitch on the weekend, which he’s accomplished that and helped pitch our team to Omaha, which he did last year as well. I mean, it’s so crucial every game that you play. And he’s logged a ton of innings for us in his career with us and just been a good leader and a good teammate as well.

“I don’t want to call it gravy or anything like that, but now it’s time to enjoy the opportunity for him to compete and then for us to enjoy the opportunity to watch him compete while at the same time just kind of managing the game as best we see fit.”

Sechrist made managing the game easier for Vitello, thanks to his outing on Wednesday.

Now the Volunteers will wait to see who they will face in the Men’s College World Series Finals, between the winner of the Texas A&M-Florida matchup. The Aggies just need one win to advance, while the Gators need two straight wins to make a return appearance in the Finals.

Men’s College World Series: Florida overwhelms Kentucky men,s,college,world,series,florida,overwhelms,kentucky,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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The Kentucky Wildcats booked a spot in Omaha for the first time in program history thanks to “chaos.” Kentucky found a way to manufacture runs all season long, relying on little things like bunts, stolen bases, aggressive base running, and more to beat teams. As for the Florida Gators, who Kentucky faced in an elimination game Wednesday, they were built to mash.

On Wednesday in Omaha, mashing won out.

The Gators overwhelmed Kentucky 15-4 to eliminate the Wildcats and keep their title hopes alive for at least one more game.

Kentucky scratched out a run in the top of the first inning, thanks to a walk and then a stolen base from leadoff hitter Ryan Waldschmidt, and then an RBI single from DH Nick Lopez.

Their 1-0 lead did not last long.

Florida, with a revised lineup at the top that saw Jac Caglianone leading off for the first time in Omaha, put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning, and a big one at that. The Gators put seven runs on the board, with the big blow a grand slam off the bat of designated hitter Brody Donay:

The Florida DH was just getting started.

A Donay single in the third gave the Gators two runners on base with just one out. Kentucky recorded the second out of the inning and then walked Caglianone to get to their No. 2 hitter, 2B Cade Kurland.

The 2B responded with a single to shallow center, advancing to second using a nifty slide to avoid the tag. Two runs scored on the single, giving Florida a 9-1 lead.

Kentucky started to chip away at the Gators’ lead, scoring a run in the fourth and then two more in the fifth on a two-run blast from Emilien Pitre. But the Gators’ potent lineup had another crooked number up their sleeve, as Florida hung five more runs on the board in the fifth inning.

Some of those runs came via the long ball, as Donay went yard again down the left-field line for a solo shot to start the fifth. The blast came off the bat at over 117 miles per hour, the highest exit velocity recorded at Omaha this postseason:

But the runs kept coming, starting with Florida executing some small ball of their own. After Donay blasted his second home run of the game, Caglianone walked, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then swiped third, getting a huge jump off pitcher Jackson Nove Nove as the lefty failed to even look in his direction.

While Kurland struck out looking on the pitch, Caglianone was then 90 feet away from an insurance run for the Gators.

So they went with a little safety squeeze, with shortstop — and cleanup hitter — Colby Shelton getting the bunt down perfectly to bring Caglianone home:

The Gators plated three more runs in the inning, one coming on a double from Luke Heyman and two more from a single off the bat of Ashton Wilson. By the time the inning came to a merciful end for the Wildcats, the Gators had a ten-run lead and could start thinking about taking on Texas A&M in the nightcap.

But they were not done, because Caglianone had some history to make:

The likely top-five selection in the upcoming MLB Draft launched a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, for his 75th career home run at Florida. That put him atop the school’s all-time leader list, topping the mark set by Matt LaPorta during his time in Gainesville, who was in attendance to tip his hat to the new school leader.

By the time the final out was recorded, the Gators had hung 15 runs on the board, for the final score of 15-4.

They’ll look to keep their title dreams alive later tonight, as they take on Texas A&M. The Aggies have yet to lose in Omaha, and defeated Florida 3-2 in the opening game for both teams on Saturday.

We’ll see if the Gators needed to save some runs for tonight’s game in just a few hours.

Men’s College World Series: Kentucky-Florida moved to Wednesday due to severe weather men,s,college,world,series,kentucky,florida,moved,to,wednesday,due,to,severe,weather,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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Florida and Kentucky are set to square off at the Men’s College World Series, in a do-or-die game for both teams.

Now they will have another night to think about what needs to be done.

With the threat of severe weather looming over Omaha — forecasters are calling for thunderstorms and heavy rain — Tuesday night’s elimination game between the two teams has been moved to Wednesday morning.

That sets up a baseball triple-header in Omaha Wednesday, and a double-header for the team that wins the rescheduled game between Kentucky and Florida. Wednesday’s new schedule for the Men’s College World Series is as follows, with all times Eastern:

  • Game 10 Kentucky vs. Florida | 11 a.m.
  • Game 11 Tennessee vs. the winner of North Carolina/Florida State | 3 p.m.
  • Game 12 between Texas A&M vs. the winner of Kentucky/Florida | 7 p.m.

Both Florida and Kentucky are 1-1 in Omaha. The Gators are coming off a 5-4 win over NC State that kept their season alive, while the Wildcats just dropped their first game in Omaha to Texas A&M, losing by a final score of 5-1.

The SEC rivals played one series this year in early May, and the Wildcats won two of those three games in Gainesville.

Men’s College World Series: Jac Caglianone and Brandon Neely extend Florida’s season men,s,college,world,series,jac,caglianone,and,brandon,neely,extend,florida,s,season,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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With Florida’s season on the line, Jac Caglianone took the bump for the Gators in an elimination game against NC State. However, a shaky outing saw Caglianone last just one inning for Florida.

He still found a way to help extend Florida’s season at least one more game.

Caglianone was lifted after allowing a run during a shaky first inning, which included both a walk and a hit batter. But the two-way star for the Gators came through with a massive blast in the top of the second, a three-run blast to right that was part of a four-run second inning for Florida.

Caglianone’s three-run shot came on this 91-mph pitch on the inner half of the plate, that the lefty slugger was able to turn on in a hurry:

The home run was clocked at 116 miles per hour off Caglianone’s bat. It also made the Gators two-way star the first starting pitcher to homer in the MCWS since Tim Hudson accomplished that feat for Auburn back in 1997.

Yes, that Tim Hudson, who is now the head coach at his alma mater.

Of course, Caglianone’s short outing on the bump meant the Gators needed to go deep into their bullpen to outlast the gators. Caglianone was lifted in favor of Cade Fisher, who lasted four innings and allowed three earned runs to pick up the victory. But after Jake Clemente pitched a scoreless sixth inning, Brandon Neely came on to start the seventh for the Gators.

Neely closed things out, going the distance for the rare three-inning save. The Florida right hander allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out six over three nearly-perfect innings for his fifth save of the season. The three innings of work brought Neely’s total innings pitched over the postseason to 21, meaning Neely has pitched 25% of the team’s 84 innings in the postseason.

Following the game, Neely praised the entire team, and Florida’s toughness:

Florida’s season is now extended by at least one game, as the Gators await the loser of tonight’s contest between Texas A&M and Kentucky.

Men’s College World Series: Jace LaViolette and Texas A&M deny Florida men,s,college,world,series,jace,laviolette,and,texas,a,m,deny,florida,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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Cade Kurland thought he had done it.

After a delay of over four hours due to severe weather in the Omaha area, the final game of the opening round of the 2024 Men’s College World Series between Florida and Texas A&M finally got underway after 11:00 p.m. local time. The Aggies took a 3-2 lead into the top of the ninth inning, powered by a pair of runs in the second inning and one more in the third as they built a 3-0 lead.

But the Gators did not go quietly into the night. Florida put a pair of runs on the board in the top of the seventh inning to cut the Aggies’ advantage to just 3-2, and that was the score when the Gators came to bat in the top of the ninth inning. After Brody Donay struck out to start the ninth, center fielder Michael Robertson — a hero for Florida in the 2023 MCWS double-elimination round — got on board with a single to bring Kurland to the plate, representing the go-ahead run.

After the count got to 1-1, Kurland got a backdoor breaking ball that he drove to right, putting everything he had into the swing.

It was almost enough:

Instead of the two-run shot he thought it was off the bat, right fielder Jace LaViolette used every inch of his 6’6 frame to climb the wall in right field, and deny Kurland of the go-ahead blast.

Leaving the Florida second baseman stunned:

LaViolette might have had a quiet night at the plate, going 0-for-2 with a pair of walks, but he put up monster numbers at the dish for the Aggies this season, slashing .311/.453/.751 with 28 home runs.

And he can flash the leather when he needs to.

Men’s College World Series: Mitchell Daly and Kentucky walk it off against NC State men,s,college,world,series,mitchell,daly,and,kentucky,walk,it,off,against,nc,state,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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For the first time in the history of the Men’s College World Series, the opening two games ended in walk-off fashion. Vance Honeycutt’s single in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday powered UNC to a 3-2 win over Virginia, and in the nightcap, Tennessee rallied in the bottom of the ninth to overcome a three-run deficit to defeat Florida State 12-11.

If you thought that meant that Saturday’s afternoon tilt between NC State and Kentucky would not end similarly, you thought wrong.

The Wildcats and the Wolfpack could not settle things in nine innings, and the game advanced to the tenth with the score knotted at 4-4. Kentucky set NC State out in order in the top of the tenth, thanks in large part to this stunning defensive play from center fielder Ty Crittenberger:

Kentucky catcher Devin Burkes led off the bottom of the tenth with a walk, putting the potential winning run on base to start the frame. After designated hitter Nick Lopez flew out to center, Burkes tried to get into scoring position via a stolen base. But Wolfpack catcher Jacob Cozart — a potential first-round selection next month — threw a strike down to second to cut down Burkes.

But Mitchell Daly was still at the plate, even if there were two outs.

He would not make a third:

Daly turned on a hanging breaking ball, drilling it deep to left field and over the wall for a walk-off home run, the third walk-off victory in three games in Omaha. Final score: Kentucky 5, NC State 4.

Given how these games have started in Omaha, you might want to tune in tonight when Florida takes on Texas A&M.

Because you might see something special.

College World Series: Kentucky’s Nolan McCarthy gets a special message from a MLB legend after heroic slide college,world,series,kentucky,s,nolan,mccarthy,gets,a,special,message,from,a,mlb,legend,after,heroic,slide,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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Kentucky’s Nolan McCarthy scored a run that will live on in the legacy of the Wildcats’ baseball program, as the outfielder scored from second base on a passed ball late in the team’s Super Regionals game against Oregon State. The run gave Kentucky a 3-2 lead in the late innings, and would hold up as the winning run.

McCarthy’s heads-up play included a head-first slide that reminded many of something you would see from the legendary Pete Rose. Watch as the Kentucky outfielder notices that the pitcher is not covering home plate, and then lunges into Wildcats’ lore:

Among those who were reminded of Rose? Doug Flynn, a Kentucky alum and a former teammate of “Charlie Hustle” who won two World Series titles as a teammate of Rose’s on the Cincinnati Reds. Flynn reached out to Rose via text, including a picture of McCarthy’s slide, and Rose returned the message, with one of his own for McCarthy:

“Tell him to keep having fun. However, the only way to have fun is to win. Everybody’s in a better mood when you win. You can’t win every game but you should want to,” Rose texted.” Field, hit, be a good baserunner. Don’t care who you are. Three-for-10 and you’re having a good day. Play some good defense and have fun.

“I made 10,000 outs so don’t worry about it.”

McCarthy and the rest of the Wildcats are in the middle of their first game in Omaha against NC State, and perhaps Charlie Hustle is watching along with the rest of us.

Men’s College World Series: Bracket, scores, schedule, how to watch, and more men,s,college,world,series,bracket,scores,schedule,how,to,watch,and,more,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

Mens College World Series Bracket scores schedule how to watch
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Eight teams are on their way to Omaha for the 2024 Men’s College World Series.

Only one will earn the right to be called a National Champion.

A field that began with 64 teams in pursuit of a dream has been trimmed to eight, and now those final teams have been split into two brackets. On one side of the tournament you have North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida State. The other finds NC State, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.

That’s right, eight teams representing just two conferences, the SEC and the ACC.

Later this week the eight teams will head to Omaha to begin the final two stages of the Men’s College World Series, starting with a pair of double elimination tournaments to trim the field to the final two, and then a best-of-three series to crown a champion.

Here are the teams, the brackets, the full schedule, how to watch, and more.

Finalists

Here are the eight finalists, listed in order of their ranking heading into the NCAA Men’s Baseball Tournament.

(1) Tennessee
(2) Kentucky
(3) Texas A&M
(4) North Carolina
(8) Florida State
(10) NC State
(12) Virginia
Florida

As you can see, seven of the eight teams were among the ranked 16 teams when the field of 64 began play. Only one team — Florida — survived to this point as an unranked team.

Format and Brackets

The NCAA Men’s Baseball Tournament follows something of a hybrid model, beginning with a double-elimination tournament (the Regionals) and then a best-of-three series (the Super Regionals).

The Men’s College World Series uses both over the final two segments. In the Men’s College World Series the eight teams are divided into two brackets, and play a double-elimination tournament. A winner emerges from each bracket, and those two teams meet in the Men’s College World Series Final, which is a best-of-three series.

Bracket 1

The first bracket consists of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida State.

Bracket 2

The second bracket consists of Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and NC State.

You can see the full bracket here:

Men’s College World Series schedule and results

Friday, June 14

  • Game 1: North Carolina 3, Virginia 2
  • Game 2: Tennessee 12, Florida State 11

Saturday, June 15

  • Game 3: Kentucky vs. NC State | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+
  • Game 4: Texas A&M vs. Florida | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Sunday, June 16

  • Game 5: Virginia vs. Florida State | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+
  • Game 6: UNC vs. Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Monday, June 17

  • Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+
  • Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Tuesday, June 18

  • Game 9: TBD vs. TBD | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+
  • Game 10: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Wednesday June 19

  • Game 11: TBD vs. TBD | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+
  • Game 12: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Thursday, June 20

  • Game 13 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD | 2 p.m. ET | TBD
  • Game 14 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | TBD

Men’s College World Series Final schedule and results

Saturday, June 22

  • Game 1: TBD vs. TBS | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Sunday, June 23

  • Game 2: TBD vs. TBS | 2:00 p.m. ET | ABC/ESPN+

Monday, June 24

  • Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBS | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN+

Christian Moore makes Men’s College World Series history in Tennessee-Florida State christian,moore,makes,men,s,college,world,series,history,in,tennessee,florida,state,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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Friday night’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida State Seminoles in the Men’s College World Series has yet to go final.

But a player has already made some history.

Tennessee infielder Christian Moore hit for the cycle in the game, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat since Jerry Kindall hit for the cycle back in 1956.

Kindall and Moore are now the only two players in Men’s College World Series to ever hit for the cycle.

Moore’s first hit came in the bottom of the first inning, when the Tennessee second baseman tripled to lead off the inning for the Volunteers. Then in the bottom of the second Moore checked the double off his “cycle to-do list,” as he laced a line drive down the left-field line to drive in a run:

Moore came all the way around the bases on a throwing error, but the play went into the books as a double.

In the fourth inning Moore laced a single to right, improving to 3-for-3 on the night. But that still left the infielder a home run shy of the cycle.

Moore checked that box in the sixth inning:

As noted by Tennessee’s social media department, Moore’s cycle is just the sixth in program history, and the first for the school in the postseason.

Moore is considered one of the top prospects in the upcoming MLB Draft, and in our most recent mock draft we had Moore coming off the board with the No. 21 pick to the Minnesota Twins.

After tonight, that might be too low.

Men’s College World Series: Vance Honeycutt delivers again for UNC against Virginia men,s,college,world,series,vance,honeycutt,delivers,again,for,unc,against,virginia,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

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North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt began his first game in Omaha in the 2024 Men’s College World Series with an 0-for-4 mark at the plate. But he finished Friday’s opening game of the Men’s College World Series against Virginia with a 1-for-5 mark at the dish, with one single.

And what a single it was.

As he has done so many times before, Honeycutt delivered in the clutch for UNC. With the game knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth and the winning run 90 away from home plate — and two outs on the scoreboard — Honeycutt ripped a breaking ball into left field, plating the game-winning run and advancing UNC into the winner’s side of Bracket 1 in Omaha.

Quite the start for UNC’s Mr. Clutch:

Or as they like to call him down in Chapel Hill, Vance Honey-clutch:

UNC now awaits the winner of tonight’s game between Tennessee and Florida State, two of the most potent lineups in all of college baseball. The Volunteers as a team posted an OPS of 1.029 this season, best for second in the nation, with the Seminoles not too far behind with a mark of .975 which placed them sixth. But the winner of that game will be facing something different in their second contest.

Mr. Honey-clutch himself.